The Only Rule
by fwingsnitch
Summary: "Listen to me, Ash. You never should have gotten involved in any of this, but now that it's too late, I'm going to tell you something. There is one rule that you must follow, and one rule only if you want to survive: don't trust anyone." Some AAML! R&R!
1. Chapter 1

"Listen to me, Ash. You never should have gotten involved in any of this, but now that it's too late, I'm going to tell you something: don't trust anyone. The more paranoid you are, the more likely you are to survive long enough to see how it all ends." Pokeshipping involved, please read and REVIEW!  
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Hey guys, I know the description does really say much, but I couldn't really think of a better one without giving too much away. Anyway, I'm not sure how this story will turn out, but I figured I might as well give it a shot. So without further ado, here are the ages:

Ash is 16

Misty is 17

Brock is 20

Now for the actual story!  
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Chapter 1

"I told you we should have used the AAA batteries!"

"Well I didn't know there was a specific type of toast we had to use to start the boat!"

"Ash!"

"Not now, Voldemort, we need to find a way out of this soap!"

"Ash!"

"Yogi, would you shut the hell up, it's not my fault Voldemort ate all your video games!"

"Ash!"

Ash immediately felt something hard and wooden hit him in the back.

"Ow! What the hell, Van Go!" He sat up and glared at who he thought was Van Go. It turned out, however, it was not.

"Excuse me?" Misty raised an eyebrow. She was already dressed and ready for the day, wearing a red t-shirt and tight denim shorts, her orangey-red hair tied in its usual ponytail. The morning sun shining through the window and reflecting off her smooth skin augmented the beauty of her body. Somehow, the fact that she was holding a baseball bat also made her more attractive.

Ash blinked a couple times and sat up, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. After a few seconds, he realized that it had all been a dream. A really weird, messed up dream. Ash had never figured out where his brain came up with these strange ideas, or how he never seemed to realize that they were not real. For some reason, whenever Ash was in a dream, nothing seemed bizarre.

"Oh, hi, um…" Ash was flushing from his strange comment. "Sorry," he said. "Dream."

"You dream about Vincent Van Go?"

"Don't ask me. I'm always having messed up dreams."

"Your brain must get bored a lot. Not surprising, seeing as you hardly ever seem to use it." Misty smiled, and so did Ash. They were always kidding with each other like that. After all, everyone knows that facetious insults are one of the greatest ways for people to bond.

"Well, come on," Misty said, tossing some clothes onto Ash's lap. "We're leaving in a hour." She kept looking down at Ash's chest for half a second, than blushing and looking back up at his face.

"Leaving to where?" Ash said, standing up, completely oblivious to the fact that he was wearing only his briefs.

Misty blushed wildly. She had seen Ash shirtless before, but that was when he was ten. A shirtless ten-year-old and a shirtless sixteen-year-old are two very different things. Back when she was eleven, she never would have believed Ash would grow to be this…this…hot. Holy crap. Misty actually thought that Ash Ketchum was hot. She made a mental note to see a doctor later.

"Misty? Leaving to where?" Ash repeated his question.

Misty blushed even more and tore her eyes away from Ash's bare torso. "Remember?" She said, trying her best to ignore the many different thoughts that were flying through her head at that moment. "I bet you that I could get Brock to get down on his knees and say he loved me, and I did. Now you have to take me shopping."

Ash grumbled. "How was I supposed to know you had a Nurse Joy costume?"

"Oh, come on," Misty said, obviously amused by the grumpy face that Ash was making, "Don't be a sore loser. Just get changed, get breakfast, and for heaven's sake, would it kill you to take a shower every once and a while? You smell worse than Brock's cologne." On that extremely insulting note, Misty walked out of Ash's bedroom and closed the door behind her.

"I may smell like shit," Ash said, "but I do _not _smell as bad as Brock's cologne."

He looked in the mirror, and realized what Misty had been staring at. he hadn't even known he _had_ six-pack abs. Ash looked himself over, and grinned at his reflection. "Damn, I look _good_," he said, completely unaware of how egotistic it sounded. Then again, it did not really matter, because as we all know, the perfect time to be egocentric is when one is alone, looking a mirror.

"Pi, pika chu pika."

"Oh, shut up," Ash said, looking down at his furry little friend, who had just awoken to see Ash flexing his muscles in front of the mirror. "I'll bet you're just jealous."

"Pika pi pikachu."

"Well, girls like buff guys."

"Pikachu pika."

"Are you sure that girl pokémon find lightning bolts attractive?"

"Pi."

"Well, okay, then," Ash said, putting on a shirt, and walking over to the door, "You can attract pokémon, and I'll attract humans. That way we both win."

"Pika." The electric rodent ran down the stairs, its thunderbolt-shaped tail wagging with excitement, more at the thought of table scraps than pokechow. Ash undressed and stepped into the shower. A couple seconds into it, though, his head began throbbing, as if there was someone inside of it, trying to bang their way out with a sledgehammer.

Ash's head was still hurting when he stepped out of the shower, so he searched the bathroom cabinets for some aspirin. He found and took it, but to no immediate effect. Despite his severe headache, Ash continued to brush his teeth, put on deodorant, get dressed, and walk downstairs to eat breakfast. There he found Misty eating scrambled eggs and Pikachu sitting hopefully at her feet, waiting for a piece to fall off her fork and into his open mouth. Marill was also there, but he was choosing to eat his own pokechow instead. Ash's mother was in the kitchen with a plate of pancakes ready for Ash.

He sat down at the table, Pikachu now moving over to him (he preferred pancakes to scrambled eggs), his head still hurting. Ash ate his pancakes slower than usual, because he wasn't feeling as good as usual. On a normal day, he would be completely energized by now, without the aid of caffeine. But today, he was feeling absolutely horrible.

By the time Ash had finished his meal and kindly given a couple pieces of it to Pikachu, Misty was standing at the door, purse in hand. Ash stood up, his trusty hat doing an okay job of covering up his hair, which he of course had not even attempted to neaten, and walked slowly over to Misty.

"A deal's a deal," she said, and Ash simply mumbled incomprehensible words. Not only did he have a major headache, but his stomach now felt sick.

"I don't feel so good, he said, a hand on his gut. Misty replied with a laugh.

"Ash, come on, do you really think you'll be able to fool me with an act like that?"

Ash bent over and stumbled to a table next to the sofa. "Ash…?" Misty said, in a slightly worried tone. Pikachu and Marill also scurried over. "Pika?" Pikachu squeaked, hoping to get a reply. Ash's mother walked over and asked if he was okay, also getting no reply. Ash simply stood there for a few seconds. He was barely able to hold up his own weight, even with the help of the table. Then, without warning, he vomited all over the floor.

"Oh my God, Ash!" Ash's mother screamed. He would have fallen if Misty hadn't caught him and held him up. She held up and hand and felt his forehead. "My God, you're burning up!" Delilah helped Misty to pick up Ash and lay him down on the couch. He was now coughing and hacking like crazy, and could barely hold open his own eyelids. Pikachu ran up and poked his cheek lightly with his nose. "Pika?"

Ash didn't have the energy to answer with anything more than a soft moan. Everybody was now gathered around him with worried looks on their faces. Misty seemed to be more worried even than Ash's mother. "Ash…" she said, right as Ash began to fall into a deep slumber.  
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And that's the chapter! Sorry if it seems a bit short, if want me to make the chapters longer, just say so in your review! Please at least write a review! Reviews are like my pet T-rex! They…um…they…eat…lawyers…and that's always a good thing, right? =D


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for all the reviews, guys! Thanks to you, there are now 5 less lawyers on earth! =)  
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Chapter 2

Ash awoke in a cold sweat, the reason for which would be this.

In his dream, Ash had been standing at crossroads. One path appeared dry and barren. The other was surrounded by lush, green grass, beautiful flowers, and huge, majestic trees. However, in the distance, Ash could see that there was also a storm over the second path, and it was moving closer. There were no signs, no maps, no directions. It was all up to Ash.

But before he could make a choice, something hard hit Ash in the head. He yelled and fell to the ground. When he turned his head to see what had hit him, he saw Pikachu standing there in a fighting stance. "Pikachu?" Ash said, confused by the attack from his best friend. But Pikachu did not seem to hear him. Instead he got down on all fours and screamed, unleashing a huge thunderbolt that hit Ash dead on. Ash could feel the electricity pulsing through his body, but the longer the bolt shocked him, the less pain he felt. Then it stopped. He opened his eyes, which had been wincing, just in time to see an iron tail being swung straight at his face. He had no time to dodge it, and was knocked backwards into a chasm. He began falling, screaming, looking up and Pikachu, who was watching him from above with a devilish grin on his face.

And then Ash awoke. When he did, he was laying on the couch in the living room of his house. Misty was also asleep, with her head on his lap. It seemed that she had made a failed attempt to stay awake all night, watching him. Ash smiled at the thought, and slowly moved her head off of him, careful not to wake her. He then stood up from the couch. He felt much better now. He walked into the kitchen and checked the clock. 3:43AM. Ash didn't remember ever waking up-had he really been asleep for eighteen hours? Ash shrugged and walked upstairs to the bathroom to do his business.

When he got up there, he locked the door behind him, turned around, took a step forward, and froze. Ash slowly turned his head ninety degrees to the right and looked in the mirror. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

_'I must be dreaming,' _he thought. _'That's the only logical excuse.'_

He closed his eyes and pinched himself a couple times, willing himself to wake up. However, he could not. He opened his eyes and looked in the mirror, speechless.

Sticking out of his head was a pair of long, yellow ears, black at the tips. Two round, red patches were located on his cheeks. He reached around and also felt a thunderbolt-shaped tail. Ash was too shocked to even scream. He simply stood there, staring at his own reflection. He was starting to silently freak out.

What happened next didn't help one bit.

All of the sudden, the shower curtain opened behind him, and a knife was placed in front of his neck, though it didn't seem to have anyone holding it. Ash was still watching all of this through the mirror. A voice whispered in his ear.

"Do not scream. I will take this knife away from your neck on one condition: you do not make any sound. If you do, somebody will wake up, and that wouldn't help either of us. Will you promise me that you will keep your mouth shut?" Ash was much too afraid to nod, so he let out a small "yes". His fear caused his voice to crack, even though he was only speaking one syllable.

"Good," said the voice. "Break that promise and I will not hesitate to kill you." The knife was then moved away from Ash's neck. However, this time it was being held by someone. A young boy who looked about 14, with long, black hair was wielding the knife. He had large, tilted eyebrows that gave him an unfriendly aura, and was dressed in all black, including a baseball cap on his head.

"Okay, you can turn around now." He said. His voice was deep for a 14-year-old. He spoke quietly, and his voice had a very serious tone to it.

"You want to know what the hell happened, don't you?" Ash nodded, unable to speak. What was going on? Who was this person? How did he turn invisible?

"Well, then, you're in luck, because Shayna can figure that out in no time. Shay, come on in here," he said, unlocking the door. Ash was completely shocked by what then walked through that door.

She was one of the most beautiful people Ash had ever seen. Shayna looked like she was between 15 and 17. She was short but thin, with a very attractive body. She had shoulder-length, pale-green hair that was draped over her right eye, and wide, pale-red eyes. She was smiling a toothless smile at Ash, causing him to blush. She was wearing a white tank top, light blue jeans, and a red beanie cap, which seemed to be covering something up.

"Hi," she said, "I'm Shay." Her soft, sweet voice seemed to make Ash melt inside. All of the sudden, he felt much more calm and relaxed. "Just for the record," she added, "I do not approve of Mark's tactics."

"Oh, just shut up and figure out what happened." the boy, apparently named Mark, said.

"Fine," Shay replied, proceeding to place her hands on Ash's head, causing him to blush again. If she noticed this, she did not react. "This may hurt," she said, closing her eyes. All of the sudden, Ash was sucked out of that world, and found himself in a huge space filled with images and faces and objects, all swirling around him at incredible speeds. He saw the face of Max, May's brother, whom he had traveled with in Hoenn. He saw a Pokémon center, Team Rocket's Meowth, Gary Oak, a T-shirt...all these objects would not stop moving. Every time one thing disappeared, it was replaced with another. Then, one image zoomed towards Ash. It was an image of a large, white room, being viewed through some sort of clear tube.

Then, Ash was there. He was inside of a tube, stripped naked, with all sorts of strange wires and contraptions attached to him. He was banging the tube, yelling. Beside him Pikachu was in the same situation as him. Then, a voice sounded from all around. It was the voice of a British man, except it was influent, and sounded like each word had been recorded separately, then put together to form this message.

"_Hello-Ash_." The voice said. "_Do-not-worry, this-should-not-hurt-a-bit…it-should-hurt-a-lot._" All of the sudden, an excruciating pain shot through Ash's entire body. He was screaming, his eyes welling up with tears, but the pain would not stop. It simply kept on going until Ash finally could not take it anymore, and passed out.

When he finally awoke, it was nighttime. Ash was laying on the ground next to Pikachu, outside of his house. He stood up, picked up Pikachu, and walked inside. He continued upstairs to his bedroom where he collapsed onto his bed, feeling exhausted. He wasn't even awake long enough to notice himself closing his eyes.

Ash was sucked back into the real world. "Ow!" He said, grabbing his head, which had suddenly began aching, badly. "Sorry," Shay said, apologetically. "I said it might hurt."

"It's fine," Ash said, letting go of his head and opening his eyes. He was back in the bathroom.

"Well?" Mark demanded. "Was it Dr. X?"

"Yup," Shay answered, putting her hands in her pockets. "Him and his pikachu." She gestured to Ash. She was about to speak again, but Ash interrupted.

"Wait," he said, completely confused. "How-I mean-what did-you just-what did you-what-_hey_!"

"You were kidnapped by a mad scientist. Nobody knows his real name, but he calls himself Dr. X. He performed a DNA transfer from your Pikachu to you. You've probably been sick recently, because of the new DNA in your body. It took awhile to this DNA to actually take effect, which is why you haven't had all your new features until now."

Ash listened attentively, trying to believe what he was hearing. It was not easy. Once Shay was finished explaining, he spoke.

"So," he said, "where's the hidden camera?"

"This is no joke, Ash," Shay said.

"Yeah, right," Ash continued sarcastically. "Like I _actually _got mutated into some half-pokémon freak by some evil scientist! Seriously! I'm actually a little insulted by how gullible you guys think I am! I'll bet somebody put these fake ears and tail on me while I was asleep! I mean, did you guys actually think I-OW!" Mark had just reached over and yanked on one of the ears on Ash's head. "Do fake ears hurt that much?" He said, irritated.

"Mark, please," Shay said, "it's completely reasonable that he doesn't believe us. In fact, I'd be a little worried for his mental health if he _did_." She turned to Ash. "Ash, remember what I just did to you? I can do that because I'm part Kirlia." Shay pulled off her beanie to reveal two large, flat, pale-red horns on her head. Ash stared in shock.

"Yeah, and look," Mark said, taking of his baseball cap to reveal a pair of large purple horns. "I'm part Gengar. That's how I turned invisible."

"So…you two really are…and I'm…" Mark and Shay nodded.

"But, who are _you_? And how did you find me?"

"Our boss, Skyler, seems to know whenever somebody nearby becomes a pokeman. Nobody knows how-we think he has some way of sensing it."

"Pokeman?"

"That's what people like us are called," Shay explained. "You know, people who are part pokémon. Skyler joined a bunch of us together to form a sort of team or force-whatever you want to call it. So far, everybody in the group is one of Dr. X's victims. He loves kidnapping people, turning them into pokemen, and then just dropping them back off at their homes. It's strange. We have no idea what he gets out of it."

"So you guys want me to join this team?" Ash said, and Mark nodded. "But, why form a team in the first place?" Ash asked.

"Surely you've heard of Team Rocket?" Mark said. Ash nodded. He knew Team Rocket all too well. "Well," Mark continued, "Skyler formed the team for the purpose of trying to bring them to justice. They've supposedly been behind all sorts of pokémon-related crimes, mostly thefts, but nobody's ever been able to actually prove that they're behind it. Whenever somebody is caught stealing pokémon who claims to be working for them, Team Rocket always claims they know nothing about that person. Skyler's hoping that if we interfere enough, they just might make a mistake, and we'll be there to catch it."

"Sounds pretty cool," Ash said. "I've dealt with Team Rocket plenty of times before."

"Oh yeah," Shay said, "I read about you in the paper. I hope you're not talking about Jessie and James, though, because they're probably the worst Team Rocket has ever had?"

"Really?" Ash said. He had always assumed that Jessie and James were Team Rocket norm, and therefore was constantly wondering how Team Rocket had become so successful.

"Oh yeah," Mark said. "Trust us, Jessie and James compared to most of Team Rocket is like a magikarp compared to a gyarados. Luckily, Team Rocket doesn't seem to know anything about us yet."

"So, what would I do if I joined the team?" Ash asked curiously. Mark and Shay had to ponder this for a few seconds before they could answer.

"Well, we've never had an electric type before," Shay finally said. "You'd probably be used to hack into Team Rocket's computer networks and see what you can find there. You wouldn't have to know anything about computers," she added when she saw Ash's expression. "Once you got a hang of your powers, you'd probably be able to just manipulate the machinery at will, without really doing much work."

"Of course, that's once you get the hang of your powers," Mark said. "All new recruits have to go through training before they can actually do much. But, don't worry. It's still fun. Plus, we pay you $500 up front, then $1000 a month after you've finished training. Ash's jaw dropped just at the thought. When he asked who was funding all of this, Shay said that Skyler liked to keep that a secret, for the protection of the funder.

"Woah…" Ash was still taking this all in. It was a lot for him to handle. All of the sudden, his knees felt weak. He had to lean on the sink for support. Mark and Shay waited patiently, though Mark looked a little annoyed, waiting for Ash to calm down. Once he had regained his balance, Ash stood up straight.

"You don't have to make your decision right away," Mark said, handing Ash a card with an address on it. "But if you want to join, just stop by. Then you can meet the rest of the team, and see what we have to offer over at headquarters."

"You guys have a headquarters?" Ash said, astonished.

"What kind of a team would we be without a headquarters?" Shay said.

"Oh, and a little piece of advice," Mark said. "Don't let anybody know you're a pokeman. If anyone finds out, it will get to the government somehow, and they've been trying to find pokemen for years so they can do tests on them. Trust me, you don't want that."

"But, how do I hid it?" Ash said.

"Do what we do," Shay said. "Wear a hat to cover up the ears, put make-up over the patches, and just stuff your tail in your pants. It'll be a little uncomfortable at first, but you'll get used to it. Do you usually wear a hat?" Ash nodded. "Good," she said, "that way nobody will become suspicious when you keep it on all the time."

"Well, that's basically all we have to say," Mark said.

"Okay," Ash said. Then a thought struck him. "But, wait-how are you gonna get out of here?"

"Shay can teleport," Mark said simply. The two then put their hats back on, and Shay grabbed Mark's arm.

"It was nice meeting you, Ash," she said, smiling at Ash and causing him to blush and Mark to role his eyes-Ash could not tell if it was a reaction to Shay's comment, Ash's blushing, or both. But before anyone could say anything more the two had dissapeared in a flash of rainbow light.

Ash was left alone in the bathroom to just stand there and think about what he had just heard.

Then he noticed that sometime during the previous encounter, he had peed his pants.  
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And there's the second chapter for you! Please review and tell me what you think! Seriously. I mean it. Review. There are still too many lawyers in this world.


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys, sorry it's been a bit of time, I've been procrastinating! But you don't care, do you? Let's just get to the story!  
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Chapter 3

After his encounter with Mark and Shay, and discovering that he was no longer fully human, Ash was walked into his bedroom and tried to sleep. But, of course, what kind of a person discovers that they are part pikachu and then goes right back to sleep. If there existed any people like that, Ash was not one of them. He tossed and turned in bed for over an hour, his eyes shut, trying to fall asleep. But his brain was much too active, bouncing around all this new information, to allow a even a minute of slumber.

At 6:00AM, he gave up. He got out of his bed and looked at his new figure in the mirror. There didn't seem to be any changes other than the ears, patches, and tail. If he managed to cover a these three aspects up, nobody would be able to tell he was any different. What worried him, however, was that he may not be able to control his newfound powers. What if he hugged Misty and ended up electrocuting her. Then again, Ash considered the chances that he would ever get such an opportunity to be fairly low. But what about his mom? Or his pokémon? Pikachu would be okay, since he was an electric-type, but there was no way of knowing about the others.

Ash took the card that Mark had given him out of his pocket. He figured he'd be able to get there without anybody being suspicious. He could just say he was headed to a pokemart or electronics store to do some window shopping, as this was not at all uncommon for Ash. Of course, he wasn't 100% sure that he even _wanted _to join this team, though he was leaning towards "yes". He would get paid, learn how to use his powers, and help take down Team Rocket. The only worry Ash had was that it may be difficult to pull off without rousing suspicions. He had knew that by now his mother considered him old enough that she no longer had to be watching his every step. The only problem was avoiding Misty's attention. He and Misty were very good friends, and she was inquisitive enough that she may figure out that Ash was up to something. Not only this, but the mere concept of lying to Misty made Ash a little queasy. She was without a doubt his greatest friend, and probably the one person he had real trouble lying to. Not only did it make him feel incredibly guilty, but if Misty discovered she had been lied to, Ash would have to endure a serious ass-whooping.

Ash let out a long, deep sigh. He began to pace around the room, as he always did when he could think of nothing else to do. Usually after a few minutes of this, somebody would become irritated and give Ash suggestions of activities. However, because Ash was now alone in his room, there was nobody to do so. This meant that Ash was free to pace for almost an hour without anybody stopping him-which he did.

When Ash looked at his watch it was almost 7:00. He knew that his mother would be awake by 8:00, and Misty by 9:00. So he decided to use the time he still could to shower, change clothes, being sure to stuff his tail in his pants (Mark was right-it was indeed fairly uncomfortable), and hide his ears behind his hat (this required bending them slightly). He then proceeded to use his mother's make-up (Misty never used make-up, which caused Ash to be even more amazed at how beautiful she always looked) to cover up the patches on his cheeks. A couple times when he was applying it, he could have sworn he saw a spark from one of the patches, but he simply ignored this, as we all do when we do not have the energy to try to explain something.

It was 7:29 when Ash exited the bathroom, and he walked downstairs to see that Misty had not moved throughout the night, and was still knelt beside the couch, her head in the exact same place. She began to awake at the sound of Ash descending down the stairs. Ash didn't even make an effort to resist the temptation boiling inside of him-he knew that any attempt of the sort was futile. He quietly walked over to Misty knelt down beside her, put his face as close to hers as he could (without immediately waking her), and put on the biggest, most wide-eyed grin he could muster. Misty smacked her lips a couple times, and slowly began to open her eyes. when they reached about half-way, he eyelids shot up, and she let out a high-pitched scream. Ash had to quickly move away to dodge an incoming hand. He had to lean on the couch to keep his balance while he was laughing. After a few seconds, he recovered from his fit of laughter and looked up, expecting to see Misty standing right in front of him, fists clutched, her face red with fury. However, instead he saw something that completely threw him off.

She was smiling. He had just pulled a prank on her that had, in the past, always cost him at least one slap in the face, sometimes two or three. But there she was, standing there, a hand on her hip, smiling at him. Ash had learned how to recognize a fake smile, too, and this was not one of those. This was a completely sincere, honest-to-goodness smile, which left Ash so shocked that he did not even realize his next though came out through his lips.

"What the hell?"

Misty laughed, walked over, and raised a hand. Ash braced himself for a slap, but instead received a gentle pat on the cheek. He stood there for a few seconds, looking a Misty, who was still smiling. Then, slowly, a smile began to spread across his face. He chuckled, unable to think of the right words to say. Misty continued smiling silently at him. This smile, however, he recognized as fake.

Ash didn't even have enough time to say "Uh oh" before he was hit with a powerful slap across the cheek.

"_That_," Misty said, "is for making me worry so much. I'm still going to let that last little joke slide. At least now I know you're okay."

Ash looked up, rubbing his cheek. He grinned at Misty. "I love you, Mist." Misty's cheeks turned red, but not from anger. Suddenly, Ash realized what he had just said, and also blushed. The two then simply stood there silently, looking at each other.

"I mean-you know-by "love" I just mean…um…like-I like you a lot. I mean I-I don't, like, actually-_love _you, I just-um…" Misty laughed and gave Ash's cheek another pat.

"I get it," she said, and walked upstairs, leaving Ash standing there in the living room, unable to think of words to say.

After a few seconds, the realization suddenly hit Ash that his disguise worked. Misty didn't seem to notice any difference in Ash's appearance. He let out a quiet sigh of relief, and walked into the kitchen. He was starving. After a bit of searching, he found himself some bagels and cream cheese. Just as the bagels popped out of the toaster, Ash was all of the sudden hugged from behind.

"Oh, thank goodness you're okay!" Ash let his guard down when he recognized the voice.

"Yeah, mom, I'm fine," Ash said, turning around to face his mother, who was practically in tears.

"You had me so worried-I thought you were going to die!"

"Well, I'm not dead," Ash said, kissing his mother on the forehead. "In fact, I feel completely normal."

"Well, we'll see how you feel at the end of the day," Ash's mother said, still holding onto her son. "Sometimes these diseases will ware off for a little while, then come back."

"I'll be okay, mom," Ash said. Though he sounded irritated, he was actually incredibly grateful for his mother's concerns. At the same time, though, he wished she hadn't been so nice, as this made him feel a little guilty about the fact that he would have to lie to her later. She let go of Ash and allowed him to carry his breakfast to the table.

As Ash was finishing up his breakfast, Misty walked down the stairs, wearing a purple polo shirt and dark blue skirt. She hadn't bothered to tie her hair up in a ponytail today, and Ash was surprised to find that he actually preferred this look, her long orange hair flowing gracefully over her shoulders, reaching almost halfway down her back.

"Still feeling alright?" Misty said. Ash, who had food in his mouth, simply gave a thumbs-up in reply. His mother informed him that a doctor had been called over to examine him, and was unable to give a better diagnosis than a bad case of the flu. Although it was uncommon for children of Ash's age and health to catch the flu, it was not impossible. After a small argument, she managed to coax Ash into agreeing to take things easy for the next few days.

Ash cleaned up his dishes and walked outside, saying that he was on his way to Professor Oak's place to visit his pokémon. Once outside, however, he stopped. He took the card out of his pocket, looking at the address. The headquarters were located in Pewter city, which wasn't too far away. Still, Ash was unsure about whether or not he wanted to join. He had no idea how he would be able to stand lying to Misty, but on the other hand, if he didn't join, he may not learn to control his powers, and end up hurting people. So he decided to do what everyone does when they are feeling indecisive: he flipped a coin.\

"Alright," he said to himself, taking out a quarter from his pocket, "heads I join, tails I don't." He flipped the coin. Heads. Maybe he would try again. Heads. After flipping the coin three more times, he still had all heads.

"Okay, then," he said, "_tails_ I join, _heads_ I don't." He flipped the coin. Tails.

"Damn you, George Washington," he said, putting the coin back in his pocket. That was it. He was joining the team. He sighed, and walked over to the garage. Pewter city was a bit too far away to walk, so he would take his bike. He wondered if he should bring pikachu with him, but decided against it. He didn't know yet if that was okay with the team.

As he was riding to Pewter city, Ash began to wonder what this team would be like. What sort of things would be in the headquarters? Who was paying for this?

Ash almost biked right past Pewter city, and would have if he hadn't been stopped by Brock.

"Hey, Ash!" He yelled, causing Ash to stop biking and look around. He was now in Pewter City, and Brock was waving at him from in front of the gym. He ran over to talk to Ash.

"Hey Brock!" Ash said, climbing off of his bike to meet his friend. "What's up!"

"Not much," Brock said. "Sorry I couldn't come yesterday, I didn't hear that you were sick until the evening. Speaking of which, what are you doing riding a bike?"

"Oh, I'm feeling a lot better now. The doctor said it was probably just the flu."

"Well, that's good. So, what are you doing here? Come to visit?"

"Actually, I'm just riding around," Ash lied, "seeing if much has changed since I left."

"Well, nothing much. Things are basically the same as they were last time you were here. By the way, do you know how long you'll be staying?"

"Until I find something to do somewhere else, I guess," Ash said. "Now that I'm finished with the Sinnoh League, I really don't have anything to do except hang around here and train."

"Great!" Brock said. "It'll be nice having you here for a while. Well, I've got to go to the Pokémon Center, so I guess I'll see you later, huh?"

"Yeah, see you," Ash said, thankful that this conversation was ending. As Brock walked away Ash took the card out of his pocket and walked his bike over to the address. When he got there, he didn't know what he had been expecting to see, but it definitely was not this.

The building looked like it had not been used in years. Bricks were broken, windows were dirty, and vegetation was growing all over the walls. It wasn't too large of a building, and looked as if it had once been part of an apartment complex. Ash checked to make sure this was right address, took in a deep breath, and walked towards the door. However, before he got there, it was opened from the inside, and a man walked out. He was tall and handsome, with sandy hair an average build. He grinned and walked over to Ash. He was wearing fairly casual clothes.

"Hi there!" He said enthusiastically. "You must be Ash Ketchum! I'm Skyler Flynn, I think Mark and Shay told you about me?" Ash nodded, shaking his outstretched hand. "Great!" Skyler said cheerfully. "Why don't you come inside and meet the rest of the team?"  
_

And that's where the chapter ends. Unfortunately, there won't be another update for a couple weeks-I'm going on a vacation to Yellowstone! Also, I'm turning thirteen this Thursday =D

Anyway, be sure to review and tell me what you think! Thanks guys!


	4. Chapter 4

Hi there, readers! And, for those of you reading this for the second time, hi again! Well, I'm finally back from Yellowstone, which I suppose means I should get working on the rest of this story! Let me first say, however, that Yellowstone was AWESOME, and that anyone who hasn't gone there before should book a flight immediately after reading this. Dying without going to Yellowstone is like dying a virgin. Also, thanks for all the "Happy Birthday"s! I really appreciate it! =D

Well, enough of this! Onto the next chapter!  
_

Chapter 4

Skyler led Ash inside. Once Ash saw the inside of the building, he was a little surprised at how nice it looked when compared to the outside. While the outside had seemed completely abandoned, the inside looked like a team of maids had just finished up.

Ash was standing in what looked like a family's living room, with two couches forming a corner in front of a big-screen TV, with a coffee table dividing them. The carpet was white, as were the walls and ceiling, and the whole room seemed freshly vacuumed and dusted.

Ash began to wonder why the outside was not like this. Seeming to read Ash's mind, Skyler told him, "The outside is just to stop people from coming inside. This room is so that if anyone does get in, they won't consider it anything important. The only reason it's so clean is that we hardly ever actually use it for anything more than entering and exiting.

Ash then noticed that both couches were occupied. The five people all seemed to be teenagers, ranging from ages 14 to 17. Skyler introduced Ash to each of them, informing him of which pokémon they had the DNA of, and what they did for the team.

"Shayna," he said, gesturing to the same beautiful girl Ash had met earlier, "I believe you have already met. She may have told you that she is part Kirlia, making her psychic. She helps us out by teleporting people, and can also see into people's minds and figure out some of what Team Rocket is up to." Shayna waved at Ash and smiled, causing him to blush.

"Stacy," Skyler continued, gesturing to a cheerful-looking girl with curly blonde hair and a baseball cap, "Is part Dragonair. She happens to be fairly smart, so she helps me out with security and thinking up plans." Stacy smiled at Ash in a way that reminded him slightly of Misty.

"Mark," Skyler continued, gesturing to the same Mark from the night before, "I believe you have also met. He is part Gengar, and helps us out by sneaking into Team Rocket buildings invisible and stealing documents." Ash examined Mark's expression. He looked like a kid who had been dragged to some mother-son dance, and was not liking it one bit. Then again, Ash seemed to remember Mark always looking that way. He did not exactly come across as a happy person.

"Diana-" Skyler said, and then paused when he realized he was gesturing to...Ash?

"What the hell!" Ash said, staring at himself sitting on the couch It was the same face, same clothes, even the exact same hat.

"What? Who are you?" The other Ash said, in the same voice, standing up.

"Who am I? Who are you?"

"I'm Ash Ketchum!"

"No, you can't be Ash Ketchum, I'm Ash Ketchum!"

The other Ash was about to say something when Skyler cut in. "Nice try, Diana," he said, looking at the other Ash, who pouted at him.

"Dammit!" The other Ash said. Ash nearly fell over in shock at what happened next. The other Ash's body seemed to melt away, even the clothes. Ash simply stared, until finally there was only one Ash in the room. Standing in front of that one Ash was a tall, slim girl with pink hair and eyes, dressed in a red mini-skirt and white blouse.

"It was the eyes, wasn't it?" She said, now in a high-pitched, feminine voice. "I can never get the eyes right!"

"Well, you'll learn in time," Skyler said, then turned to Ash, who was beginning to understand the situation a bit. "Ash," he explained, "this is Diana. She is part Ditto. She helps out by transforming into Team Rocket members and trying to get information from other employees. Diana turned to Ash and looked him up and down, like a drill sergeant examining a new recruit.

"You're kinda cute," she said, winking at Ash and making him blush. Skyler then gestured to the final team member.

"And last, but _definitely _not least," he said (Ash thought he heard Mark mutter "That's a matter of opinion"), "is Trenton!" Trenton smiled and waved at Ash. He had medium-length, messy, navy blue hair, most of which was covered by a black top hat. His eyes were bright red, and his pupils white.

"Trenton is part Murkrow," Skyler said. "You'll get to know him better if you join the team, since he's in charge of training new members. When he's not doing that, he runs various errands, such as getting snacks and supplies. Also, if you have any questions about anything, you can just go to him, since I'm busy a lot of the time."

"So," Skyler said, turning to Ash, "have you decided to join?"

"I think so," Ash said.

"Alright then, you're in!" Skyler said. "No contracts or anything for you to sign-after all, this is supposed to be top secret! And, of course, now that you've joined, we have another person to introduce!"

Skyler moved Ash so that he was in full, clear view of everyone, causing him to blush slightly. "Everyone," Skyler announced, "this is Ash Ketchum, the newest addition to this team! he is part pikachu, and will be helping us by hacking into the Team Rocket computers and seeing what kind of dirt we can dig up there!"

Trenton began to clap but, when he noticed that nobody else was doing so, slowed down and stopped. After a couple seconds of silence, he said, "Well, I just assumed that everyone else would clap…you know, cause it…it seemed like the appropriate thing to do…" Still, there was silence. Trenton fidgeted a bit and the spoke again. "Awkward…okay, change the subject, change the subject, um…er…anyone wanna talk about STDs?"

Mark facepalmed.

"Okay, mental note," Trenton said, "think of new subjects. Um…okay…well, then…I…suppose we'd better get you to training, huh, Ash?"

Ash simply nodded, and Trenton stood up, leading Ash upstairs into a room that looked like it had once been an attic. There were different stations set up for different types of training. Trenton led Ash over to a station at the far side of the room that was basically nothing but a basket of tennis balls.

"Okay," Trenton said, standing next to the basket, "just stand right there, across from me. We'll start out by looking you up on the pokedex."

"You have a pokedex?" Ash said, a little surprised.

"Of course," Trenton said, pulling out a black pokedex from his pocket, "we all do. Now, you're part pikachu, right?" Trenton opened up the pokedex and pressed a few buttons. "According to this thing, all you're electricity is stored in those little patches on your cheeks. In other words, don't let anyone kiss you on the cheek. It also says that pikachu have to constantly discharge energy from their tails in order to keep themselves from shorting out, but since you're part human, that shouldn't be a problem. It also says you're one of the fastest pokémon out there." Trenton smirked.

"We'll see about that," he said, taking out a tennis ball from the basket. He tossed it back and forth between his hands a few times and then, without warning, pelted it straight at Ash's face. Ash expected to feel a sharp pain to his nose, but instead felt himself catch the ball. He stared at the tennis ball in his hands. He had no idea he could move that fast. Then another ball came at him, which he caught with his other hand.

"I guess you really are fast!" Trenton said, grinning. Ash stared at him. "What?" Trenton said.

"Dude!" Ash yelled. "Ball! Face! What if you had been wrong!"

"You would have been hit in the face with a tennis ball, which would have been hilarious," Trenton said, as if this were obvious, which it sort of was. "Now come on, catch some more!" Trenton said, picking up another tennis ball and pelting it at Ash, who dropped the two he was holding and caught it, then another.

"Not bad!" Trenton said. "Seems like this is just instinct for you!"

"I guess," Ash said. He continued catching tennis balls that were thrown at him. Then he began to feel something strange in his cheeks. A weird sort of tingle. It grew more and more intense until finally, when yet another tennis ball was flying at Ash, huge amounts of electric bolts burst from his cheeks, frying both the ball and part of the wall he was next to. After a couple seconds it stopped. Ash looked around, expecting Trenton to be shocked. Instead, he was simply smiling.

"You're body is still getting used to all this electric energy," he said, "so that'll probably happen from time to time. But don't worry, it should stop after a couple days, but until then, I wouldn't spend too much time out in public. I'm a master at lying, and even I can't think of a good excuse for that."

"But…what happens if I accidentally zap someone or something?"

"Then hopefully it'll do something to their brain so they won't remember. Don't worry, you won't kill them or anything-like I said before, you're only _part _pikachu, and even full pikachus don't usually kill people unless they're really trying."

"Trenton…" Ash had just remembered how persistent Misty tended to be at figuring out something she didn't know. "What happens when people _do _find this place?"

"What, you mean people who aren't in the group? Depends. Mark sometimes does look-out, and he usually threatens to call the cops if they don't leave. If they come back, he threatens to kill them."

"What if they come back again?"

"Well, Mark isn't the type of person to make empty threats."  
_

And that's the end of this chapter! By the way, just so you guys know, I'm planning to make this into my first trilogy! Yup, I'm gonna end this story and its sequel with a cliffhanger, and then finish it all off in the last story. I can't say much without giving stuff away, but I can say this: the stories will all be connected. I'm planning to make the first and second about the team of Pokemen, and the third one about…well, something different. =D

Anyway, please review and stuff!


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